Haters
by Leigh Parker
Summary: Kim Baker isn't as perfect, five years later. Jessica Baker is more perfect than ever. What happens when a tragic accident tears them apart? COMPLETED!
1. Filling In Space

My name is Kimberly Baker. Kim for short. Everyone always thinks that my life is perfect. Eleven awesome siblings – everyone thinks it's so great. Yeah, right. It's the farthest thing from perfect. The Kim everyone knows isn't the same as the Kim that I know – me. Everyone knows the nine year old. I'm fifteen now.

Ever since Jessica got that scholarship... Things have been so different for me. Everyone thinks they know the Kim that was perfect, had perfect grades, and did everything the right way and never screwed anything up. They knew her when she was nine. But when Jessica and I turned thirteen, things started to spiral down. She got on the National Junior Honor Society... While I was turned down. My huge family was so concerned on celebrating Jessica's victory that they didn't even notice me. Of course, I was sitting in the background watching everything go on. Then, when school let out that year, Jessica took a summer course so she could start getting high school credits.

That's when it happened.

The crash.

It's been a nightmare, but we've lived through it – well, some of us. Jessica had decided to carpool one day with Me, Dad and half of Mike's hockey team. Mike and his friends had decided to play "car hockey". The hockey puck lost control and hit the roof. Mike tried to catch it, and... Well. I don't like to talk about it, but instead of Mike catching the puck, it hit Dad in the head, and he turned around to yell. Jessica screamed for Dad to look at the road, but he couldn't hear her. Me, sitting in the front seat, took the wheel, and turned it, trying to get the car to go straight.

The car didn't go straight. In fact, it went in just about every direction BUT straight. Before I knew what was happening, the car spun off the highway into the nearby 7-11.

I'd like to say no one blames me for it, but – that's not true. Everyone knows it was my fault. The only people that are okay with me still are that half of Mike's hockey team, and Mike. Mike claims it's his fault, but I claim it's mine. But Jessica will never forgive me for what happened, no, definitely not Jessica. That night after everyone got back from the hospital, she moved into Sarah's room. I wish I could go back and change everything.

But you can't turn back time. And I'd give anything, anything to do so.

I want my sister and best friend back; I want my family to love me again. It could almost all happen. But in that accident, two years ago, one of us didn't survive.

My dad is dead.


	2. Anything

My family still hasn't gotten over the shock. I'm not mad, but, if you lost one member of your family, and then started shunning another one, wouldn't it be like you'd lost TWO members of the family, instead of one? If my family wants to accept me, they can go ahead and do so.

One of the reasons that Jessica was so mad at me was because Dad's job helped pay for her summer course, which, needless to say, was very expensive. After he passed away, it was supposedly my fault. I prayed, and prayed, but eventually the family support checks from my dad's work stopped coming. When the last one eventually came, it had a note attached to it, saying:

**Baker Family – **

**So sorry about what happened. Our best wishes are with you, but we can no longer pay you financial support.**

Mom told Jessica she would have to drop out of her summer course. That night, Jessica and I had a fight. Not a fistfight, but a screaming fight. I lost. After it was over, the whole house was silent, save for Jake's music blaring, trying to save him from the noise of the fight.

Jessica says I ruined her life, and everyone else's in this family. It's not true, I swear it isn't, but everything seemed to click into place when Mom decided I had to move up into the attic – my room was going to become storage space. I had known about this, but somehow, Jessica being mad at me made it so much worse.

Anyway, back to the now. The "where I am today". Well, to tell you the truth...

Things haven't changed all that much. I started slacking in school more after Dad died. Jessica would come and stare at me struggle through my homework every single day for about a month, and then she just stopped. Then Henry watched me. Then every member of the family. They all got bored with me after a month, except for Mike. He still thinks it's his fault. We have a deal – he helps me with my homework, I help him with his. We both pull passing grades, and then it starts over again, another year. I started working in a coffee shop around the corner from my high school, which I started this year. So did Mike, barely. He was born in August, so things even out. He's in advanced math in the high school, so they just shoved him up a grade – while they pushed Jessica up two. Jessica is going to graduate early next year. Going to Yale, or Harvard or something, or at least that's what I heard.

I know my family wonders about me sometimes, but to tell yet another truth, I feel so left out without them. I'd do anything to get them back.

Anything.


	3. Action

BANG! Went the door as I slammed it shut. How could this happen to me?

It was the last day of my first year of high school. Needless to say, it hadn't gone so well. Apart from the Mike and I helping each other just so we could pass thing, I thought everything was going alright. Okay, so the school was going to pick one student out of all 900 in the 11th and 12th grades to receive a scholarship to a summer camp for gifted children, enabling them to graduate from high school no matter which grade they were in, 11th or 12th. So at about 10:30 AM this morning, the whole school was called down to the gym for an end-of-year awards assembly. Two hours later, they gave out the scholarship.

Now, as you may remember, Jessica was pushed up two grades into the 11th grade. I never considered her a candidate. I always thought, "Jessica is one out of 900. There is no way..." Well, strike one for Jessica, because she won that scholarship. Something struck me, as well. Jessica has always been and will always be the better child, the better citizen, the better student! She's going to college this year, and she's only fifteen! Almost sixteen, but so. I guess for once in my life, I was going to do something right, and once again lost it to Jessica.

Everyone at school always looks at me like, "So YOU'RE the girl who got held back two grades. You're the girl who had everything and then lost it." I always want to scream at them, "I DID NOT GET HELD BACK! AND EVEN THOUGH YOU THINK I LOST EVERYTHING, I'M GETTING IT BACK!"

And I'm right, because tonight, I'm going to start my plan of action. This is where my story really begins.


	4. Plan

I started to doubt my plan as soon as I took it into action. What if no one came looking for me? Hopefully, someone would. 12 is just too big a number – Tina Shenk was right about that one. 12 is so big a number that one of my siblings, at least, had to come looking for me. And I was going to make it so easy for them.

Here's my plan:

Step One: Leave note for remaining members of family (the ones who live at home).

**Mom, Jake, Mike, Jessica, Nigel, Kyle, Mark –**

**I ran away. I can't stand it here. Everyone in this family hates me, and I can't live like that. Don't worry about me, I'm in Chicago. I took after Nora, and I went to go live with her. Thanks for everything.**

Step Two: Buy ticket to Chicago. This is so much harder than it seems. I had to make sure that my family could tell where I was going. First, I mentioned it in my note. But since I was going to leave at 3:00 AM, I had to manage to buy a train ticket online without getting caught. This was going to be difficult because, hello, there are seven other people who still live at home in my family, and they're all over ten, meaning every single one of them uses the computer.

Step Three: Sneak out without getting caught.

I was halfway through getting out the bathroom window (because it was the biggest one and the lowest to the ground – the designers of the house were complete idiots, in my opinion...) when Mike came into the bathroom to get more medicine for his allergies. And my plan went right down the toilet.

No pun intended.


	5. The Window

I let go of the window.

The one mistake I wish I hadn't made was realizing at the last second that our house wasn't really that close to the ground. If you remember that I mentioned that the designers of this house were idiots, you are so much smarter than they are. Unfortunately, this window, even being the lowest to the ground, wasn't actually on the first floor. Second, why was Mike's allergy medicine in here, anyway! He and Mark share their own bathroom, that used to be Lorraine's, but since she moved out some huge number of years ago, everyone did rock-paper-scissors, and they got the bathroom.

"Ow," I said, completely by accident. I lunged for my backpack that I had so smartly dropped out the window before I jumped out. Mike leaned out the window.

"Kim? Wha- What are you doing?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

"I'm running away," I said, not even flinching at his expression.

"Why?" He said, starting to climb out the window after me.

"Because… because… I don't--"

"Ouch!" He yelled, kind of loudly, as he dropped to the ground.

"SHUT UP!" I hissed.

"Ow. Why are you running away?" He asked, for the second time.

"Because I don't fit in with this family."

I took off running towards the bus stop before he could get any words in edgewise.

It was during that moment that I made my mistake. I looked back, and I saw Mike, the only remaining member of my family that still respected me, just standing, and staring at me. I turned quickly before I could run back and decide to stay. Where I was running, I didn't know. I know I said I was going to Nora's, but I couldn't go there. Nora hated me, just like all the people back home. I almost screamed in frustration. I could have fully gone back home if Mike hadn't seen me.

I started walking towards the bus stop on the corner of my street. I knew it was going to be a long wait before anyone, any bus, person, or lost pet found me. I knew Mike was going to go back to sleep and then, in the morning, start a search party for me. No one was going to want to come.

I lay down on the bench, using my backpack as a pillow. It was going to be a long night.

Sorry it was so short. R & R. More coming later today or tomorrow, if you guys are good. ;)


	6. Bus Fumes

I was finally jerked awake by the smell of bus fumes. Ah, bus fumes. What wouldn't I do to smell bus fumes again! Yes. Well. Anyway, back to my nice, non-bus fume-y story.

I was jerked awake by bus fumes.

I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night. In fact, I was sure I hadn't gotten anywhere NEAR enough. I'd gotten enough bus fumes for sure, however...

Back at the Baker household -- yeah, I'm just Kim now. Not Kim Baker, just Kim. My former family would probably by on the joyous side for an entire month if they heard about this. Back at the Baker household, I could only imagine what was going on. 'Maybe the usual food fight with Gunner's dog food...' I thought, with a laugh, trying to choke back a sob. I would miss Nigel and Kyle's frantic actions to keep Gunner away from Mike and Mark's bathroom in the future. It had always been where the family pets were held, even at Lorraine's protest. I would miss Mike swinging from the roof, something he still did, five years later, even at Mom's protest. She couldn't resist anything happening to any other member of our family again, I guess. I made a face. That was one thing I wouldn't miss -- Mom's actions to keep us out of trouble.

After the accident, anyone could guess that I had turned rebel, but this was sort of expected. If I had been in counseling, maybe things would have been different. I needed the counseling. I was only thirteen. How was I supposed to deal? Ten mad siblings and a Mom who didn't love me anymore. Not that I cared -- I could live without them, and I was going to start a new life without them.

My plans changed in that instant. 'The bus fumes have really gone to my head...' I thought, hopelessly. Instead of going to Nora's apartment, which I most certainly couldn't have done, she would have sent me right back to the people that hated me. My so-called family. I thought families were supposed to care about eachother, to help eachother when someone was feeling down. I almost laughed at that. They had done everything but. Well, that's not true. Mike had tried so hard to pull me out of my depression, but I think that he couldn't have helped even if I had wanted him to. I was too far... _gone_...at that point to probably be helped at all. That was when I turned rebel. I started dressing in black, no one cared. I was the only one Mom didn't try to watch out for.

There was this one time, when I was fourteen, when I decided it would be a good idea to stand in the middle of the road. If you're scared for me, don't be. I'm here now, aren't I? Yes. Well, I had decided to stand in the middle of the road, _purposely_ when an oncoming car was approaching. It was ironic, because all the other members of my family were afraid of cars after what had happened. Well, not Mike so much, but Mom most of all. At any rate, me and my stupid ideas would have gotten me killed, and sometimes I wish they had, but no. Mike foiled my plans by coming out of the house to check the flowerbeds for his allergy medicine, which I later learned had been thrown out of a window by Nigel (stupid allergy medicine... CURSE YOU, ALLERGY MEDICINE!). He saw me get hit by the car.

The next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital with Mike sitting next to my bed, awake, in a chair. Just Mike, no Nora, Mom, Sarah, Jake, Jessica, Mark, Nigel, Kyle, Charlie, Lorraine, or Henry, and most especially, no Dad. I do remember what Mike said. Even though he was only thirteen, he knew enough to care.

"Kim," he said. "Kim, don't ever try that again. I'll let you repel off the roof with me, but never get hit by a car ever again. Promise?" I had nodded. Later that week, I'm not sure what day anymore, but later that week, I was released from the hospital. Me and Mikey had to sneak out because the nurses wouldn't let me leave without a parent signature, and for all my Mom cared, she wasn't about to let be back into the house. Unfortunately for her, I returned, only to leave again. But she didn't know I was going to leave.

Which is why it was important that I was woken by bus fumes.

I stood up, and realized that it wasn't bus fumes at all. It was car fumes.

I'm going to give you one guess who was sitting in the front seat.

_A/N: AHA! A CLIFFHANGER! Sorry, I'm a bit hyper today, and I was just happy that I never had to smell bus fumes for the entire summer. YEP! I'm OUT! Leave me happy notes!_


	7. Importance Of Allergy Medicine

My best friend. He was sixteen, and he was my savior.

He was my best friend, and he was in the car.

"Hey, Kimmy! Need a ride?" He said, getting out and shutting the car door as he walked around to the side where I was laying on the ground (I had fallen off the bench sometime in the three hours I was asleep).

He was on Mike's hockey team. As I may have mentioned before, the only member of the family that didn't hate me was Mike, and with Mike came his hockey team. (Oh no. Can't separate the hockey team. Uh-uh.) Trust Mike to call a member of the hockey team. Also trust Mike to call the only member of the hockey team (the one I knew best, that I had to give him credit for) who wouldn't kill him if he was A: jerked awake at 5 AM, and B: willing to catch on quick enough at 5 AM to offer me a ride and some help to wherever I needed to go. Complicated history here, so let me start from the beginning.

_My best friend. He was sixteen, and-- _NOT THAT BEGINNING!

There are six people besides Mike on the Evanston League Hockey Team #2 (only open to ages 14-17). I had only grown close to one of them, even though I hung out with them all the time-- don't get me wrong, I mean, I knew all their names. That's got to count for something, right? Mike was only 14 and a few months, but you had to hand it to him, he had connections. To my best friend, and the one that saved me that night, Alex Carrington. He really was the only friend I still had. What friends I had had before the accident were Jessica's friends now. Not mine. So when I heard Alex say "Hey, Kimmy," I knew things were going to be all right in the end. Alex was the only one who called me Kimmy.

"Alex! What are you doing here?" I said, obviously surprised.

"Mike called." See? Trust Mike to call someone at 5 AM. That's Mike for you.

"Oh, no. Did he wake you up?" I asked, knowing full well what the answer was..

"Yeah, kind of. What are you doing here?" He said, pulling me up off the ground.

"Um." I started, stalling. "I ran away." I knew he wouldn't be pleased with me. Alex never was. He didn't like to see me disobey, but that was one of the qualities that made him such a good friend. It kept me out of trouble most of the time.

Most of the time.

"Kimmy..."

"Well, what would you do if your whole family hated you and they blame you for your father's death, and you only have one friend, and the only sibling that does like you foiled your plans while getting his allergy medicine from the bathroom at 1 AM, and so you have to go to the nearest bus station and stay there waiting, waiting, not knowing what--" I stopped, and hung my head. "Yeah... I ran away." I finished quietly. As he started to open his mouth, I added, "And I'm not sorry."

He sighed. "Just get in the car, I know you need help."

"Do you have a pen?"

He just looked at me, but pulled out a pen, all the same, and handed it to me.

I walked quickly back towards my house. He followed, thinking I was going to write a note and then scram. I went over to the area below the still open window of the downstairs bathroom. Alex still had his own thoughts about what I was going to do, but I had different plans. He lifted me up so I could get in the window. I looked around, and saw what I was looking for.

Mike's allergy medicine.

I scribbled my name on it, in big, scrawling letters that no one, not even Gunner could miss. The bottle was heavy enough, still mostly full. I climbed back out the window, making the same kind of exit as I had before, but stood up, unhurt, and brushed myself off. I started to walk back across the street, and stopped so I was at a good distance. I took the arm with the bottle of pills in it, and pulled it back.

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! I'm good at those. By the way, I know I'm introducing one character too many, I suppose. But I got a PM earlier today from bassguitarrox (THANK YOU!) giving me ideas. Alex is based on my best friend, who isn't sixteen, but almost fourteen. I love that guy.**


	8. Breakthrough

I probably should have thought more before I did what I actually meant to do. To this day, I'm not entirely sure it was an accident – me acting rashly because I wanted to get revenge on my family – but how much is a replacement window going to cost? No, I did it because I'm obsessed with symbolism. The hole in the window would represent a hole in all of their lives. Another hole in the family – first Dad, and then me. The only difference is that I'm not dead.

"Bye, Mom. Bye, Mike. Bye, Jessica. Bye, Mark, Jake, Sarah, Henry, Charlie, Lorraine, Kyle, Nigel, Nora. Goodbye to my old life. I don't want it. Take it back."

And I threw the allergy medicine that had caused me so many problems in the past straight through the living room window.

CRASH.

Why does my life seem to revolve around crashes? Why is it that whenever I hear that sound, bad things start to happen? I choked back a sob. Yeah, like anything could get worse.

I felt a jerk on my wrist, and then I was running to the car, with Alex half-pulling me on the way there. I knew I was about to get a speech.

"What were you thinking!" He hissed at me.

"Um—Well—You see—Hey, it's not easy to be me. They had it coming."

He sighed.

"Get in the car, and I'm taking you to the train station. That's it. That's where you're going. If I'm out any longer, bad things will--"

"AH! Don't say it!"

"Sorry… Sorry…"

"But where will I--" I started to say. A sudden thought came to me. _Aunt Muriel._ A slow smile started to spread across my face. "Okay. How much do you think a ticket to Chicago is going to cost?"

"I don't--"

"WAIT! I already bought a ticket! Online! Earlier this morning! Quick, what time is it!"

He checked his watch.

"5:30."

"I need to be at the station by six!"

"Okay," He said, pushing down on the gas pedal but not going over the speed limit.

We drove the rest of the way in silence, only breaking it when we got there.

"Thank you. Really, I don't know what I'd do without--" I started.

"Don't mention it." Alex said. "No, seriously, don't mention it. Especially not to my parents. They'd kill me if they knew I was out at 5 in the morning."

I grinned.

"Thanks."

And I ran inside the station.


	9. The Broken Family

As I sat on the train, I thought things over. The last 6 hours had been total confusion for me. I shouldn't be held responsible for any of it….

Okay, that's a lie.

But I just had to wonder what was going on at the Baker household right this second…

--

"AHHH!" screamed Mark, who was no longer the outcast of the family.

"EEE!" shrieked Jessica. Don't worry, being twins does not mean that I scream like that too. Thank goodness.

"WOOF!" barked Gunner, who was, you know, just Gunner.

"Oh my god! What happened here? Mike, did you throw your allergy medicine out the window again?" Mark exclaimed as the rest of the family rushed down the stairs. Or at least, what was _left_ of the family.

"HEY! That was ONE TIME!" said Mike, who hadn't even realized his medicine had been missing.

"What's going on here?" asked Jake, who had been held back a year and hadn't seen the allergy medicine on the floor yet, along with the broken glass, and therefore had stepped right into it. "AUGH!" he howled as he stepped right into the middle of the glass.

Mom came running down the stairs. She's still the same.

"MOMMY!" screamed Nigel and Kyle, who were now nine years old, but still acted like they were four.

"Mike, what is your allergy medicine doing with all the broken glass on the floor? Who snuck into the bathroom and climbed out the window to throw it back in through the living room?" asked Jessica, who was a too smart for her own good. Or at least, now she was. Everyone just stared. "What? It's logical, right?"

"I didn't do it…" grumbled Mike.

"YOW!" shouted Jake, still hopping around, which wasn't really helping his foot injuries.

"Jake, go fix your feet…" sighed Kate—er—_Mom­­_. "Mark, go put on some shoes and get the allergy medicine bottle."

"No way!" said Mark. "Mike probably sneezed all over that thing!"

"HEY!" Mike protested.

"I'll get it!" said Jake. And he walked straight into the glass, _again,_ and yelped. _Again._

"Hey, it has Kim's name on it!" said Jessica, pointing to the bottle.

Everyone stopped talking (or hopping around and yelling, in Jake's case…) and stared at the allergy medicine bottle. Nigel broke the silence.

"No it doesn't… It says "rekab mik" on it!"

"Nigel, you're reading things _backwards_ again…" said Kyle.

"Oh." Nigel said.

Everyone continued starting at the bottle until Mark came back with his shoes on. He picked up the bottle, holding it as far away from himself as he possibly could.

"Oh, for goodness sake…" said Mike, as he snatched the bottle away from Mark.

"But why? Why would she do that?" asked Ka—_Mom._

--

_I don't belong there. _I thought to myself. _And I never will. That's why I did it. You guys had it coming._ And I drifted off to sleep for another hour or so, dreaming of what it would be like if none of this had ever happened.


	10. The Pieces

As the train pulled into the Chicago station, I started having second thoughts. What if Aunt Muriel, clueless as she was, wouldn't take me in? I mean, I know it's not nice to take advantage of someone like that, but honestly, I'd had enough. This was my fight, and I was going to win it, whether they liked it or not. So, I hailed a cab on the way out of the station, got in, and stated the address of Aunt Muriel's apartment building.

Broken family that we might be, we still held connections to family that lived in-state, or in time-zone. Hence the reason that Aunt Muriel's address was stuck in my head. I could read it backwards. (Why, I don't know. I'm just saying that I could if I wanted to.) And however many times that my life turned around in the last day or so, it wouldn't matter. Family was one of the strongest ties that you could have, and I wasn't about to let that go as quickly as my 11 siblings and my mom had. Who did they think they were? My dad had given up his _job_, his source of income in order to be closer to his family. "Happier and stronger", he called it. But it looked like I was the only one who was trying to uphold that. And try I would. Try, try, until I finally succeed.

I paid the cab driver and buzzed up to my Aunt's apartment.

"'Ello? Who ees eet?" Aunt Muriel's voice came over the speaker.

"Hey, Aunt Rie," I said. "It's me, Kim Baker."

"Ah! Kim! Eet has been a long time, has eet not?"

And the doors flew open to admit me into the building.

--

"What was she thinking?" My mom said under her breath. "Where would she have gone?"

"Mom, we can fully hear everything you're saying." Mark said.

"She ran away, it's obvious. She knew it was her fault and she'd had enough so she ran away. I hope she got run over by a bus."

"JESSICA!" Mom scolded.

"No! It wasn't Kim's fault!" said Mike loudly. "Everyone has been treating her horribly ever since Dad died—Don't deny it. Everyone here supposedly hates her, why would she want to stay here. Dad always said that we'd be a happier and stronger family--" he continued, looking straight at Mark, hoping to get some support. "—and we're not going to be happier and stronger until all of our family members are recovered and safe and _home._"

Mike walked over to the couch and sat down, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm going back to bed, we can deal with this in the morning." Mom said, going back up the stairs. As soon as he heard the door shut, Mark spoke.

"He's right, you know." Mark said quietly. "I say we get Kim back. I say we make this family stronger, and happier, and—and everything that it was before… Well, you know. Who's with me?"

Nigel and Kyle stepped forwards. So did Sarah.

"Jake, Jessica?" Mark asked, hopefully.

"Dude, I would step forward, but have you seen my feet lately?" said Jake.

"No way, she ruined my life!" Jessica said, and ran off into the kitchen.

And so the rest of the family, unknown to me, gathered in the living room to finally pick up the pieces of their lives.


	11. The Phone Call

As I raised my fist to knock on the door to my aunt's apartment, the door swung open.

"Kim!" said my aunt, pulling me into a hug. My aunt had obviously not been notified by my so-called 'family' that I was missing. Or maybe they just didn't care.

"I—like—breathing—" I choked out. My aunt released me. "Aunt Rie, I need somewhere to stay… I know it's a little much to ask, but I just need a break from home right now--"

"Of course! I 'ave a meeting I need to attend today… Will you be fine by yourself?" my aunt asked.

"Yes, yes I'll be fine." I said.

My aunt rushed out the door, obviously leaving for her meeting. I put my bag on the floor and collapsed on the couch. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a number.

--

Mike's cell phone rang.

"Hang on guys," he said. "Hello?"

"Mike, it's me, Kim. I was calling to apologi--"

"Kim! Where are you? Are you okay? What happene--"

"I'm _fine_, Mike…"

"Oh. So where are you?"

"Aunt Muriel's apartment. Anyway, I was calling to--"

"_Aunt Muriel?_"

"YES!"

"Oh."

"I was calling to apologize. I shouldn't have been so mean to you this morning. I'd just had enough of everyone calling me not part of the family…and…I just want to come back."

"Ah—Kim—Hold on just one second--" he must have covered the phone with his hand. "Guys! Calm yourselves! She's okay, and she's at Aunt Muriel's apartment--"

"_Aunt Muriel?_" chorused Nigel and Sarah together.

"YES!" said Mike.

"Oh." said Kyle.

"—and she really wants to come home, but doesn't think she'll be accepted?" said Jake.

Everyone gaped and stared at him.

"What? The volume on the phone was kind of loud…" said Jake.

Everyone looked away again. Mike put the phone back up to his ear.

"I know." He said to me. "Don't worry. I'll—I'll work something out. Just stay there…"

"Thanks." I said with relief. "Oh! And Alex told me to tell you not to go calling him at 5 in the morning anymore unless it's very, very important. And don't mention this to his parents."

"Ah—Okay."

"Bye." I said, and hung up the phone.

--

Mike hung up his own phone.

"So what do we do?" asked Jake.

Mike thought for a minute.

"Well, first we have to get Jessica on our side… And we need to call up Nora…"

_So? How did you like it? Next chapter is probably the breaking point for all the Baker's. Ohhh, it's going to be SO much fun to write…_


	12. Author's Note, Please Read

I'm not going to be updating for awhile. My best friend in the whole entire world was diagnosed with something, and I don't know what it is yet, but he says he might not be okay. I'm really scared... I don't know what I'd do without him. I want to cry, but at the same time I can't cry because I have to be strong... I'm really scared...

If I get a really good idea, I'll write, but you guys have to try to understand this... It's like, I was so ignorant to think that this would always happen to someone else and when it finally happened to me... I don't think I can grasp the fact yet that in one second, my friend's life could be over... I'm so scared.

Thanks for everyone's support for my fan-fiction, I really love you guys…


	13. The Confrontation

There came a knock on Jessica's door.

"Come in," she sighed.

Mike, Mark, and Sarah stepped into the room. Jake limped.

"Why are you—oh. Never mind." Jessica said.

Mark shut the door. Mike and Sarah sat on Jessica's bed.

"What exactly are you people doing in here, anyway?" Jessica asked.

"We've proposed a truce," Mike began.

Jessica snorted and crossed her arms.

"No seriously, we did," Sarah continued. "Jessica, we know that losing dad and you not being able to finish your study program was hard for you. But you have to understand that Kim is feeling much worse. She feels responsible for everything, and--"

"So what? I'm not her."

"You're her _twin. _You are _supposed_ to appreciate her, no matter what happens." Sarah raised her voice. "You are _family, _whether you like it or not. You are going to accept her as your sister. It's not like you haven't done anything you--"

"OW!" Jake yelled, jumping up off the floor.

"JAKE, SIT DOWN!" Everyone screamed in his direction.

"Heh, sorry. Moving on…" said Jake, finally sitting down.

"_Anyway…_" Sarah said, rolling her eyes.

"What we're trying to say is that no matter how many mistakes you make, you're still family. Would Kim blame you for everything if you were in her position? I don't think so. You're being overly cruel." Mike slid an open envelope over towards Jessica.

"What's this?" Jessica said, eyeing the envelope.

"Open it and see – we found it rolled up in Mike's allergy medicine container. Whew, what would we do without that stuff?" Mark said.

"Okay…" Jessica said. "I don't see how it will make me change my mind…"

"Open it and see. Kim's at Aunt Muriel's."

"_Aunt Muriel?_"

"YES!"

"Oh."

Mark, Jake, Mike, and Sarah left the room. Jessica opened the envelope. She gasped. Inside it was her readmission letter to her study program – and with it, $100 fell out onto her lap with the words 'I'm sorry,' on a pink sticky note attached to it. Jessica leaned over onto her pillow and started crying.

The note was signed,

_Love, your sister, Kim._


	14. Tea, And More Alex

"Tea. _Yay._" I said as I poured a cup of hot, delicious tea, straight from England. Or at least that's what it said on the box. I actually poured it out of a tea kettle. "Man, how would I EVER live without this stuff?" I said, taking a sip.

The buzzer to my aunt's apartment rang, startling me.

"AUGH!" I shouted as I burned my tongue, taking an extra large sip. "Coming!" I yelled in the general direction of the front door, setting my teacup down on the end of -- what else -- an end table. I walked over to the door, swinging the scarf that Alex had bought me for Christmas one year around my neck. It was neon. Ohh, neon.

I pressed the buzzer, going, "Hellloooo?" I let go of the button and giggled. Wow, I was being preppy.

"Kim?" I knew that voice. Give me a minute here.

"Alex!" I said, throwing open the door and swinging my arms around him. "What's up?"

"Have you been drinking tea again?"

No answer.

"_Kim…_"

"Maybe." I laughed like an idiot inside my head. Tea makes me hyper. "So why are you here?"

His turn to be silent.

I was silent in turn. It worked. I led him inside and shut the door. He sat down on the couch.

"Well." He said. "Jessica found your note."

"Ah." I said. "Please go on."

"She cashed in the money right away. After that, she called me."

"Why?"

"Because she was scared to come alone."

I was silent – again. I needed more tea.

"She was afraid of what you would say." I grabbed my teacup off the end table.

"So… Where is she now?"

"You kind of shut the door in her face."

"Whoops." I stood up and walked over to the door, where I hadn't noticed the buzzer going off repeatedly. Heh. What can I say? I grabbed the doorknob and shut my eyes. I opened the door, and was greeted with hysterical sobbing and words I tried to make sense of.

"—So—soo—sorry--" Crying. "Really—Sorry—Kim—no—please—forgive--" More sobbing. "Sister—never—broken—sorry—didn't—mean--"

"Tea?" I asked.

She threw her arms around me and cried into my shoulder.

I knew everything would work out between me and her. It would just take some time.

'Tea. Need. Tea.' I mouthed to Alex. He got up off the couch and went into the kitchen, probably in search of more tea.

"So," I said out loud. "Forgive me?"


	15. Forgiven?

When Alex finally got back into the kitchen to find the tea (I mean honestly. How long does it TAKE to pour tea!), Jessica's tears had stopped. Actually, she was sitting there, on my Aunt's couch, shredding up a tissue.

"Hey, I need those," I said, indicating the tissues.

"I'll buy you a new box," she said, also indicating the tissues.

"More tea!" Alex cried triumphantly as a box of tea flew out of the kitchen and into the living room. I caught it and chucked it right back into the kitchen.

Bang.

"Ow…" Came a voice from the kitchen.

"Whoops, sorry!" I called in the general direction of the kitchen.

"I enrolled in the class," Jessica told me.

"That's great! It was enough money, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. More than enough. If you don't mind, I sent the rest to Henry to buy a new clarinet… He's been playing with food in his mouth again and he lodged a carrot in there somehow."

"Ew," I said. "No, it's good."

"Mike was a bit confused as to why you threw his allergy medicine in through the window."

"Oh. You know. Symbolism."

This had been going on for a good five minutes before Alex, holding a hand to the side of his head (oh, so THAT'S what the box of tea hit… oh dear.) and carrying a cup of tea in his other hand. He gave it to Jessica.

"What, none for me?"

"You hit me in the head."

"Ah—yeah. Sorry."

"I'm just kidding. There's more in the kitchen. I think."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Kim, you have to come home," Jessica said, all in a rush.

"Not until everyone else forgives me. I don't want to go back."

"Can't you just--"

"No!" I collected myself. "I mean, no. Everyone else has always gotten what they wanted and did they ever think about me? No. Not really. They just watched me while I did my homework, every single day, and the only ones who actually cared were Mike and Alex. Who isn't even my brother. More like, honorary."

"Really?" Alex said.

"Yeah. And you know what else, Jessica? I sent you that money to give back what I'd so forcefully 'taken away' when Dad died. I hoped it would make you see that maybe, just maybe, I cared about you guys and the rest of the family and maybe finally you guys would care about me again." By this time, I was gripping a pillow off the couch so tightly that my fingers were starting to turn white. "And maybe it would make you see that it wasn't my fault." I was crying now. "I was only 12!" I wailed.

"Call them and tell them that… You have to make them understand. Call them and tell them what you told me."

I dialed my cell phone for what seemed like the millionth time in the past two days.

"Hello—ow!" Someone said. I covered the phone with my hand.

"Ah—Jessica… Who would be saying hello—ow?"

"Oh. That's Jake. He was being an idiot." I uncovered the phone.

"Jake? It's me, Kim. What did you _do_?"

"I stepped on the glass from the window. Dude, two words: That's sharp."

"Oh. My. God. That was actually two words, Jake, good job!" I could tell that Jake felt proud of himself. "Hey, can you put me on speaker and get the rest of the family? I have something to say."

I heard two clicks, lots of footsteps, some yelling, and a beep. Then I heard, "Go ahead, Kim."

"You guys know that I sent Jessica $100 for her after-school program, right? She used the money and sent the rest to Henry. Please, please, believe me when I say it wasn't my fault. I was only twelve, when I turned the steering wheel I was trying to stop the car, I swear, I need a family, I really do…" I tried to turn a sob into a cough. "I'm really, really sorry…" I heard sobbing in the background, and then Mark's soft voice.

"It's okay, mom."

"I—I—Kim!" The sobbing resumed. That was mom.

"Mom, I'm so sorry… If I had known… I was only trying to help…"

"Kim, I'm sorry." Mom again.

"Come home," came Jessica's voice from beside me.


	16. Le Finale

"Thanks for coming, Jess," I said, opening the door.

"No problem. Are you sure you don't want to come home?" She asked, walking out.

"Yeah…" I said. She walked out the door and pulled it shut.

I took three steps backwards and tripped over the arm of this giant chair that my grandmother gave my aunt (huge thing it is…) and landed hard into it. I pulled myself up so I was curled up in the chair. I only took up about 2 feet of space, and the chair is 4 feet long. Wow. I took a minute to contemplate the fact that this was a really huge chair, more like, a mini-couch, before realizing I was thinking about a chair.

Then, I don't know what happened, but I think Jessica's words finally clicked in my mind, and I started sobbing. Not crying, not feeling bad, but seriously sobbing. It was embarrassing. Especially when I knew I wasn't the only one in the apartment.

I heard a bang (sounded a bit like a saucepan hitting the floor) and I tried hard to suppress my sobs with a pillow. It didn't work. Man, this was really embarrassing.

How Alex does it, I'm not sure. Maybe it was the fact that he's my best friend. Or maybe, just possibly, it was the fact that I was making so much noise. But suddenly, he had his arms around me and I was crying into his shoulder. I owe that guy, I really do.

"Kim," he said in a strangled voice as he hugged me. "What's wrong?"

And it all came out. I should have done this earlier. "I have no family, I didn't really kill my dad but everyone thinks I did, and I completely suck at math and I'm going to fail midterms and there's no way I can go back to school now I mean I'm in Chicago, and who knows how long it will be before Aunt Muriel kicks me out? There's no way she's going to let me stay here and I can't go home because they all hate me and--"

"Shh. Kimmy, no one hates you, I promise. Remember, I was there, and I don't hate you. I mean, three years ago when it happened, I was just another guy sitting in the back of your dad's van playing car-hockey. Which I vow never to do again."

I choked, trying to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Anyway," he continued. "If they do hate you, it's only because you ran away. No matter what you do, I know that if you've ever been a Baker, you'll always be welcome in that house. And how could anyone hate you?"

"Ah. I owe you," I said, sitting up and wiping my face with my sleeve. He gave me a look. "What would I have to do for you to drive me home? I'll do your chores. I'll do your homework. I'll even do MY homework!"

He laughed. "You wouldn't have to do anything. Just promise me that if you ever need help at 5 AM again, you'll--"

"Call someone else, I know."

"—call me. I might actually come. I did this time, right?"

I jumped up and ran into the kitchen grabbing some paper and pencil as I went. I wrote:

Dear Aunt Muriel—

Thanks so much for having me. Alex and Jessica came to talk to me this afternoon while you were at your meeting. They convinced me to go home. Thanks for everything.

Kim

I stuck the note under a magnet on the fridge and grabbed my jacket from the hook inside the door. I ran back into the living room and threw my arms around Alex again.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou—AHH!" I, um, said (tried to say) as I was dragged off my feet and towards the general direction of the door. I unwrapped myself and walked off towards the elevator.

"Three words, Kim. Two hour drive." Alex told me as he shut the car door. I yawned. "Go to sleep," he told me.

God knows I need it.

Apparently, I fell asleep, because around two hours later, I woke up to Alex shaking my shoulder. I looked out the window at my house and visibly gulped.

"Do you want me to walk you in, or…?"

"No, I'm good."

I started up the front walk. About three yards from the front steps, I turned around and ran to the car. Alex got out and ushered me back towards the front door. Once we were there, I didn't even bother knocking. I walked straight in and Alex followed. We stopped at the entrance to the dining room and stared. Every single head was turned towards me. Even Nora was there.

There was a mad rush to get to me, I could tell.

Jessica hurled herself at me, squealing "I knew it! I knew it! I knew you would come!"

I was home.

A/N: OH MY GOD, I AM DONE! SCREAMS! I would like to thank everyone for giving me reviews and making me stay up until 2 AM sometimes just to finish this story… I'm so glad everyone liked it. I really hope you guys liked the ending, and PLEASE tell me what you thought. I owe you guys. For getting me through the hard times, and giving my story so much positive feedback, wow, it was truly amazing. I'm going to be writing another CBTD story – PLEASE give me ideas of what you might want to see. OH MY GOD... I FINISHED A 15 CHAPTER STORY. I'm going to bed.


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